


Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair

by Lurking_Umbra



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Hair, Hair Brushing, Other, i apparently have some feelings about Juno's hair
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:08:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27070993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lurking_Umbra/pseuds/Lurking_Umbra
Summary: Peter Nureyev has been waiting for the moment when he can assist his lovely lady with his hair, and one quiet moment on the Carte Blanche, that time finally comes.
Relationships: Peter Nureyev/Juno Steel
Comments: 14
Kudos: 82





	Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair

**Author's Note:**

> This was sort of inspired by some conversations I had in some discord servers, but mostly it's just me working through some feelings I have about natural hair.  
> Title is from a song of the same name that's a folk song from the Appalachian region.

Peter had prepared for this moment in much the same way as he prepared for any heist: with copious amounts of research. He had found and read from multiple sources, watched videos, and done his best to practice though he found himself lacking on that last part. He could have asked Rita to help him but he wanted this to be a surprise for Juno and as much as she would support his endeavor, Peter didn't exactly trust her to keep it a secret for long, at least not without enough hints for Juno to figure it out himself.

So when one morning Juno asked Peter if he wanted to help him with his hair, Peter felt as though he had been as prepared as he possibly could have been. He quickly found that this was not the case.

"Nur- Nureyev," Juno gasped out, and Peter tried not to be bothered by the fact that Juno was laughing at him. "Hey, don't make that face," Juno said as he did his best to smother his giggles as he reached out for Peter. 

"No, really, this isn't bad for your first try," Juno placated as he finally managed to grab hold of Nureyev in order to pull him into a hug. "The first time Sasha tried to do Ben's hair, she broke her brush. A few loose twists are miles away from being that bad."

"But you don't understand Juno," Peter said with a sigh, drawing out of the hug so that he could look Juno in the eye. "I did my research. I know your curl type, the most highly recommended products, how to do nearly any style--"

Juno's eyebrows went up on his forehead as Peter explained all the work he had put into preparing for this moment. "Yeah, but did you get to practice on anybody?" Juno interrupted. 

Peter paused, letting out the breath he had taken in a loud huff. "No," he said dejectedly.

"You did all that work and you didn't even ask Buddy or Rita if you could practice on their hair?" Juno asked with a frown. "Not that I don't appreciate your dedication either way."

"You're just doing what you do best, I suppose, dear detective," Peter said with a sigh. "And it is for that reason that I didn't want to ruin the surprise by asking."

"And you thought I'd be able to guess that you were researching how to help me with my hair just by you doing Buddy or Rita's?" Juno asked with a grin before pausing. "Well, if they kept it in, I'd at least know that they didn't do it. If you'd done Buddy's hair, you could have claimed that it was Vespa... but she's been with Buddy for a while and probably knows enough about how to deal with her hair by now, and she wouldn't lie for you. Rita would be..." Juno trailed off as he began to understand why Peter hadn't bothered to try practicing. 

"She'd be very excited, dear," Peter finished for him. "So excited that it would be nearly impossible for you not to know something was up."

"Yeah," Juno sighed. "I guess that makes sense. It wouldn't be a surprise anymore." Juno looked at his hair in the mirror. "You've got the technical knowledge down, you just need to work on your technique."

Peter made a face at that, and Juno leaned up to kiss the expression away with a grin. "It just means you need to practice a little. My hair is yours to play with, if you want."

Peter ran a gentle hand over the mess he had made of Juno's hair. Juno seemed to relax into the touch, his shoulders dropping as he leaned his head back slightly more. "I suppose that would do me some good," Peter drawled slowly. "Though I admit I'm not exactly sure where I went wrong this time."

"Your sections are too big," Juno explained. "The smaller the section, the easier it is to twist for the most part. It doesn't help that the stuff I'm using now dries out my hair a little, which means you need to use more." Juno looked down at his hands in his lap, twisting and untwisting his fingers together. "It's been a long time since my hair has been this long, and all the products I remember using are Martian." He closed his eyes as Peter started the process of parting the previous sections into smaller ones, his fingers working deftly.

"Couldn't you have asked Buddy for some recommendations?" Peter asked, reaching for the leave in conditioner Juno had been using and applying it to the first new section generously. 

"I didn't get the chance to, last time. I'll have to soon though." Juno turned his head slightly to look up at Peter, only to return his head to its previous position when Peter tutted at him for moving his head. "Although I suppose I could ask you now, since you read all about that stuff."

"Based on this... endeavor, I'm afraid it may still end up being a bit of a trial and error."

"That's okay," Juno said with a soft grin, watching through the mirror as Peter twisted another section with ease before moving on to the next. "The two of us can figure this out together."

Peter's hands stilled and he met Juno's eyes in the mirror. He wasn't sure which of them moved first, but they were soon kissing, long and slow and sweet. When they slowly pulled away for air, Peter realized that the twist he had been working on had come undone part of the way. "You'll have to stop distracting me, dear. Otherwise this will never get done."

Juno grinned unrepentantly, though he did adjust himself in the chair so that he was facing the mirror once more. He continued to steal the occasional kiss as Peter worked, but even with the distraction, it wasn't long until he was done. Juno looked at his hair in the mirror, turning his head this way and that, before rising from his seat to kiss Peter deeply.

"You did good, Nureyev," he said once they broke apart. "Now let's see how well they stay during activity," Juno said with a coy smirk, grabbing Peter's hand and leading the way to his bedroom.

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this, feel free to send kudos and comments! They fill my heart with joy!


End file.
